Nothing kitschy or bullshit about it… macho, however, definitely!
I saw Fellini’s 8 1/2 last night and watched the scene where Guido and Luisa are sitting in the sun, when Guido’s lover walks into view, about 3 times. The dialogue between G&L at that moment is some of the most painfully honest I’ve ever seen in cinema.
And by “honest”, I don’t mean by the two characters but by the screenwriter (Fellini and others). It is definitely a scene written by a person who has lived it. (Now watch me be proved wrong, with cites showing that Fellini was a loving, monogamous husband. 
)
Several people have mentioned Lord of the Rings, but nobody has yet brought up the scene that I thought was the most beautiful, powerful, and awe-inspiring of all. The quiet moment during Return of the King when Gandalf describes the afterlife to Pippin. Goosebumps and shivers every time.
The funeral scene in Clear and Present Danger was a masterpiece. The way they intercut the patriotic pomp and finery of a military funeral (the band playing “Goin’ Home”) with the massacre of the American troops left behind to die in Columbia. Pisses me off no matter how many times I see it. Which is exactly what was intended, of course.
The revelation of the “truth” in Courage Under Fire.
“I’m Spartacus!”
The chariot race in Ben-Hur is, as far as I’m concerned, the 20 greatest minutes ever put on film. Note for the picky – I’m referring to the 1959 version, not the silent film.
Yes, I’m partial to war movies and epics.
The final scene in Requiem For A Dream,
Spoiler
where Harry and Sarah meet in Sarah’s dream of being slim and on television, both happy and healthy. This, of course, is after Harry has gone to prison and lost his arm to gangrene, and Sarah’s found herself in the hosptial after being wrecked by drug addiction. The fact that they could both dream of being so happy after everything had gone to hell for them and every other main character in the story just about broke my heart. A close second is Harry’s phone call to Jennifer Connelly’s character shortly before she goes out to Big Tim’s party and gets involved in the “Ass to ass” montage. It’s just really sad…
From American Beauty
Spoiler
Lester’s working at the Drive-thru, and Carolyn pulls up with the Prince of Real-Estate guy, the both of them joking about their latest sexual misadventure. Lester hears her voice over the intercom and comes to the window, where he sees the both of them in her car. He goes into a couple lines about their specials and the two of them turn to him, open-mouthed. The shift manager who was serving them drops her jaw, too, and says
“You are so busted.”
Carolyn: “Oh, shut up!” <–(paraphrase)
Lester: “Actually, she’s the shift supervisor, so this is kind of her turf.”
Carolyn: “Don’t be so dramatic!”
Lester: “Oh, no. You don’t get to tell me what to do ever again.” (as he hands her her meal).
Ah, comeuppance.
I’ll probably think of a few others in a bit. If there’s a thread like this for television, however, I can think of a few moments from the first season of Six Feet Under I’d like to nominate.
bamf
crap
ok, sorry. that was my first attempt at a spoiler box. Hopefully, I’ll get it right, next time.
bamf
Very end of Glengarry Glenross-
Close-up on Shelley (Jack Lemmon) as he listens to Ricky (Al Pacino) singing his, Shelley’s, praises to the detective who is about to take Shelley in for the robbery- unbeknownst to Ricky. The mixture of gratitude/quiet pride/crushing defeat on Lemmon’s face is just amazing.
Sometimes I think Glengarry made Death of a Salesman look like a made-for-TV movie.
The part of Fellowship of the Ring beginning with Merry & Pippin distracting the Uruk-Hai so Frodo can escape through Boromir’s death to the end of the movie is very powerful.
Also, in Patriot Games, the scene where the terrorists attack the police convoy. The looks between Sean Bean’s character and the guard as it progressed were priceless. Everything about that scene, but especially the music, gave a chilling, foreign feel; it gave me shivers.
I’ll second (or is that third or fourth) the assault on the beach in Saving Private Ryan, the other moment in that film that always brings tear to my eyes is at the end when:
Ryan looks at his wife and says “Tell me I’m a good man…”
I also get blurry in The Patriot when Meg speaks to her Papa for the first time…
-DF
The scene that gets me even more is when he leaves her anyway. I’m pretty sure I couldn’t have done it!
Jacob’s Ladder.
One line: “Who the hell do you think you’re fighting?” The look on Jacob’s face as the truth dawns on him is just gut-wrenching.